The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art to the present invention.
Heart failure (HF) is the consequence of multiple pathophysiological alterations and adaptations, leading to left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, dysfunction and dilatation, increased systemic vascular resistance and activation of the neuroendocrine system. Effective treatment for HF has drawn increasingly extensive attention due to the high morbidity and mortality and the severe limitations of currently available therapeutic approaches towards the treatment of HF. HF is a life-threatening condition and one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in Western countries and becoming so in developed regions of Asia, such as in Hong Kong and China. There are approximately 5 million people living with HF and around 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year in United States alone. Despite the significant improvements in the medical therapy of HF in recent decades, HF remains the leading cause of hospitalization in people older than 65 with an annual mortality of 10% and 50% after 5 years.
HF is characterized by alteration of hemodynamic parameters (preload and cardiac output) with subcellular abnormalities that are associated with stimulus to hypertrophy insufficient to maintain adequate cardiac output. Although extensive research associated with HF has been focused on identification, quantification, and characterization of the injured tissue, evaluation of different therapeutic modalities, and understanding the underlying mechanism of HF, there is no currently effective treatment modality for HF. However, the pace of worsening of HF can be slowed down by treating the underlying conditions.